When is a 3-0 win not a convincing win? When the opposition goalkeeper gifts you two goals. Tuesday night was an example of the result perhaps outweighing the performance. But a result nonetheless.
Of course there were changes. Four this time, yet on this occasion there was a general feeling that they were the right changes to be made, rather than rotation with the principal aim of conserving fitness.
Pablo Counago was deemed fit enough to start the game and, having learnt from his experience on Saturday, Jim wasnt going to replace Jon Stead this time, who partnered him up front.
It was Veliche Shumulikoski who played odd man out on this occasion, failing to make the 16 after an under-par performance against Palace, with his place going to Ivan Campo. Alan Quinn made the opposite journey, having been left out of the squad on Saturday, returning to left midfield.
In a further midfield change, David Norris was dropped to the bench, making way for Owen Garvan.
The midfield changes did produce something of an improvement over Saturdays troubled performance, but the inability to retain posession in central areas remains. Campo, clearly brought in to provide some stability in this respect, was surprisingly as culpable as anybody, giving away several short passes. Despite this, his overall game was as would be expected; calm, confident and measured. Garvan offered more of the same, but it was only as the game moved on that he grew into the match, principally as a result of seemingly being given more license to get forward. Up to this point, the central area of midfield had remained rather withdrawn.
Alan Quinn was the pick of the midfielders, putting in another energetic and vibrant performance. His presence is such that it seems to pressure opposition players, whilst he also got himself into some good position on the left flank, particularly in the first half. Whilst he perhaps lacked a little in his final touch, it was another performance to re-affirm that he is the only player Town currently have who is capable of filling the left midfield role with any quality.
Jon Walters put in a typically lively display, once again putting in a good shift protecting his full-back, on this occasion Alex Bruce. He was particularly dominant in the air up against the Barnsley left back, however there is a general feeling that he is still not quite performing at the levels which he reached last season. Its to be hoped this will come as the team itself improves.
Defensively, Ipswich were anything but sound.
The defensive hero, and possibly Towns man of the match as a result, was Richard Wright, with several outstanding saves which unquestionably kept Town in the match, particularly in the first half. It was a performance that goes a long way towards eradicating some of the criticism aimed at him for costly errors in previous games and is hopefully a real platform to build on. The fact that he was called upon so often, is indication of the general unsteadiness in the back four. As in previous games, this is perhaps due to uncertainty due to personnel changes which have been enforced by injury to the first choice fullbacks, particularly since individually there are no glaringly obvious bad performers.
Richard Naylor continues to have what is quickly becoming his most consistent set of performance in his career. His tackling is sharp, whilst his reading of the game seems to have also improved such is his ability to bail out his teammates when required, a situation which would have been reversed not so long ago. Gareth McAuley continues to make steady progress, not particularly impressing, but not particularly letting anybody down especially. His distribution continues to be a work in progress, but his attempts to play the ball out of defence are to be recognised. At full back, David Wright and Alex Bruce were solid, but again unspectacular.
The forward pairing of Stead and Counago continues to build on the promise shown against Reading. Both players are intelligent on the ball, whilst also being prepared to drop deep or, in Steads case, run the channels when necessary. Whilst not a traditional strike partnership as such, they both seem to have a positive impact on the players around them. For the third successive game, Stead finished with the confidence of a natural goalscorer. It would seem unlikely that they will be seperated in the near future.
So, a tale of two goalkeepers. One who kept out all attempts to beat him. Another who made several fine saves, before contriving to give the opposition two goals from his mistakes. Were they to have been on the opposite sides, the scoreline may have read quite differently.
As it was, Ipswich ran out with a comfortable scoreline and an improved performance that will do no harm to confidence at all. Suddenly, they have emerged from the gloom of Saturdays performance against Crystal Palace to find themselves with a five game unbeaten run. With Saturdays opposition, Charlton, in wretched form, stretching that run to six should be very attainable.
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